


Sleep, Scars, and Ink Blotches

by zanthe



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 14:03:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20508218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zanthe/pseuds/zanthe
Summary: More a trio of one-shots than a cohesive story. Byleth and Claude find a way to cope with sleeping.





	Sleep, Scars, and Ink Blotches

**Author's Note:**

> I have hated summarizing since I was first asked to do so.

Claude looked... smaller when he was asleep. Face void of performative smiles, body free of tension, when he slept he was no longer plotting out every danger, every escape route, every excuse for a misstep he was yet to commit. When he slept, he was finally at peace for a moment, and Byleth was ever so grateful he'd earned that trust. 

A late night study session had turned into a deluge of thoughts and feelings. Ever since Byleth had returned from plunge, he'd been too anxious to sleep, and for years now, Claude had suffered a similar plague of insomnia. Being in the presence of someone he trusted put Claude's mind at ease enough to truly relax and get a proper night's rest, meanwhile Byleth's issues were the fear of oversleeping once more, so his former student promised to wake him up every morning. 

After their discussion of sleeping troubles, and their new plan to aid each other, Claude had settled himself against the desk, sinking back into research but slowly, surely, starting to fall asleep. He stayed just barely awake enough for Byleth to move him to his bed, tucking him in gently and sitting at the edge to continue his own reading.

Of course, he'd gotten a little distracted, but it was hard not to. So much about the young man had changed in the past five years. His entire demeanor had been hardened by the war, the first weeks of his return he'd seem to favor his left leg when no one was looking, and while it got better with time, Byleth had worried over him, but never asked what had happened. There was a faint scar under his chin he hadn't noticed before, too, and he couldn't help but wonder what other scars remained hidden under the layers of clothes he refused to go anywhere without. What hardships had he faced these last five years?

Byleth recalled how he'd felt when he saw him at the Goddess Tower that day in the light of dawn. How sorrow and guilt had seized him, how much his student had grown in his absence, how he hadn't been there for him, how he'd waited for his return regardless. How a gentle warmth had squeezed the air out of him when Claude turned to see him, gaze changing from confusion, to recognition, to something Byleth didn't dare presume yet, something warm that he felt too.

Looking at him now, relaxed and snoring gently into the pillow, Byleth felt nothing but that same warmth. He hardly noticed when his hand moved on its own, seemed to place itself gently on Claude's face, brushing aside a few strands of hair that'd come down to cover his face. He let his hand linger for a few moments more, until the man twitched in his sleep, shifting just enough to spook Byleth away. Claude mumbled something he couldn't understand, so he returned his attention to the book, but found it was getting difficult to focus. 

Tired, he plucked his bookmark from the back page and placed it between the pages he'd left off on, then stood to put it on the desk to return to his own bookshelf later. He looked back at Claude and wondered if he should stay here, or go back to his room. They had just promised each other's company, after all, but there was hardly enough room for them both on the bed, and, unlike Claude, Byleth was still in the majority of his armor. He hadn't expected to remain here so late. 

A few moments of thinking later, Byleth decided he rarely got a good sleep anyways and did his best to remove the majority of his armor as quietly as he could, placing it in a neat pile next to his book. The rest stayed on, and he tiptoed around, deciding if Claude were a dragon like in the fairytales at the library, it would not be a mountain of golden treasures he sat upon, but a pile of books. 

He sat next to the bed, head propped up on his arms, and he stole a bit of the blanket. He remembered being asked which he hated more: hot or cold weather, and the surprise he'd recieved when he answered hot. Byleth loved the climate at the monastery, it was cold enough to comfortably wear all his layers, along with a few blankets. Claude seemed to be similar in wearing layers, but he was not fond of the cold. 

As time passed, Byleth began to doze off, until a soft tap on his hand startled him awake. "Sorry," Claude yawned, wiggling towards the wall, "get up here, floor's bad." It was an effort just to scoot over and hold the blanket up, Claude couldn't even crack an eye open, simply felt the weight on the bed shift as Byleth got in, and used whatever ounce of strength he had left to throw the blanket over him, not knowing if it even worked. "G'night," he mumbled.

"Good night," Byleth whispered back, curling into the blanket.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning came, and Claude blinked awake as the light of dawn crept into his room. He sat up, wiping tears from his eyes as he yawned, and looked to his side to find Byleth curled up at the edge of his bed. He smiled, climbing over him and almost tripping when his foot got caught in the blanket. Gently, he pushed the professor onto the center of the bed so he wouldn't look like he was about to fall over the edge, and he easily complied. 

His thoughts went back to last night's promise, but Byleth hadn't gotten a good sleep in weeks, and the thought of waking him up now brought a frown to Claude's face. He could sleep a few more minutes while he picked the books off the floor. 

A few minutes turned into an hour, Hilda came to check in on why he was late. 

"Sorry, I promised Teach I'd wake him up, but..." Claude trailed off, stepping aside to let Hilda see their professor curled up comfortably. She grinned, understanding. 

"Don't worry, I'll tell them the professor was catching up on sleep and that you were looking after him. Don't let him sleep for too long, though, we need you guys over there." 

"Thanks, Hilda," Claude nodded before she left. He sighed as he closed the door, moving to kneel at the edge of the bed, "if it were up to me, I'd let you sleep a few more hours, my friend," he murmured as he ran a hand through Byleth's hair, "you deserve the rest." He moved his hand to Byleth's shoulder and shook him gently, "Time to wake up, Teach." 

He smiled as his friend woke up, groaning softly as he stretched. Byleth looked at Claude, then at the window. The sky was much too blue to be early morning. He frowned, and Claude chuckled. "Sorry, I know I promised to wake you up early, buuuut, you were sleeping like a baby, I didn't want to disturb you while you were sleeping so soundly." He winked as his friend sat up, pushing himself up to stand and offer Byleth a hand. 

"Thanks," he said, "did you sleep well?" Byleth took his hand after a moment, wobbled a little before finding his balance again. 

"Better than I have in years," Claude sighed, and the other man smiled in relief. 

"I'm glad... I did, too." Byleth let go of his hand and began picking up his belongings, "I'll see you later, then?" 

"You know it!" Claude grinned, and watched as he left the room, closing the door with a gentle click. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later, they were back in Claude's room, discussing plans of action, maps strewn about the floor and books open once more as they plotted their next move against the empire. The strategy meeting had gone well enough, but they still had to figure out how to take the bridge. 

Claude stared down at the map in front of him, Byleth had stood to grab a pen and ink to make some annotations, but in the hurry back, slipped on a loose sheet of paper. Neither had time to react. Byleth's sleeves got caught on the chair by Claude's desk, bringing it down on top of them as they plopped onto the floor, the hand holding the pen softening the fall, the hand holding the ink raised high in an attempt to keep it from spilling everywhere. It almost worked, but the bottle slipped out of his hand, hitting Claude on the head before landing on the map and beginning to spill. 

The man straightened it as fast he could, slapping a hand into the puddle of ink on accident as he turned to check on Byleth, who had fallen over his legs and was in turn stuck under the chair. They let the situation sink in, before Claude was overwhelmed by laughter. Byleth propped himself up on his elbows with a huff, allowing Claude to get his feet out from under him and help him with the chair, and his former student, still in a fit of laughter, offered him an ink-stained hand, which he politely refused.

"Aw man, Teach, are you alright?" He giggled as the professor stood up, dusting himself off. 

"I'm fine," he grumbled, checking to see if his sleeve had torn. Claude rubbed his head where the bottle of ink had struck him.

"Maybe it's time to call it a day," he laughed, beginning to calm down. He wiped off loose droplets from the bottle of ink and curled up the maps, now ruined by vast black stains and a handprint. "Seteth's gonna kill us when he sees this." 

Byleth frowned at the thought, "Go get some hot water to clean up your hand, I'll tidy up the rest." Claude complied, and he got to work gathering up the loose papers and reshelving the books. 

He came back with a bucket of hot water and a few wash cloths, and they both worked to get as much ink washed off the floor and carpet as they could. 

"Well, I don't think that stain is coming out, no matter how hard we try." Byleth winced, and before he could apologize, Claude continued, "hey, don't worry about it! It's just a carpet, and with how many books are strewn about in here it'll probably go unnoticed for the rest of eternity." Byleth didn't seem convinced, so he changed the topic. "Hey, can you check if any ink got in my hair?"

It had, just a little, and he picked up the remaining clean washcloth and sat down, bringing Claude's head to his lap as he began his effort to get the dried ink off his hair. It worked, for the most part, leaving behind a faint trace that would likely be gone next time he took a bath. Claude seemed to have relaxed in his lap, hands crossed over his stomach, rising and falling with each breath. Byleth cupped his face, prompting him to look up. "Can I ask you something."

"Anything, my friend."

A thumb caressed the scar on Claude's chin, and Byleth felt him tense, "When did you get this?" 

He sat up, back turned to Byleth, voice quiet. "When the monastery fell." He answered after a long silence, turned around to grip Byleth's hands and stare at him with a wordless plead. Byleth's expression melted into guilt, and Claude grimaced, pulling him into his arms. "No, don't feel bad about it,  _ please _ ." 

Byleth shook his head, "and your leg? Don't think I didn't notice when we got back. What happened to you, Claude?" 

"Nothing I couldn't handle, and nothing you should feel guilty over." Claude pulled away to look him in the eyes, "C'mon, my friend, a lot of us felt just as bad that we couldn't protect you before you went missing as you feel about not being here the past five years. But nothing's gonna change the past," he gripped Byleth's hands, "all we can do now is make sure to be here for each other in the present." 

Byleth looked at him sadly, then nodded, leaning forward against Claude's shoulder again. They stayed like that until he calmed down, Claude stroking his back reassuringly. 

"C'mon, it's late, let's get some sleep, ok?" he murmured into Byleth's ear, but Byleth didn't seem to want to move.

"Can we stay like this a little longer?" he whispered, and Claude hugged him closer.

"Of course, my friend."


End file.
